Kurdish Autonomous Administration Criticizes US, Russia Silence Over Turkish Raids

Flames rising from the power station in Qamishli on Monday after a Turkish bombing (EPA)
Flames rising from the power station in Qamishli on Monday after a Turkish bombing (EPA)
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Kurdish Autonomous Administration Criticizes US, Russia Silence Over Turkish Raids

Flames rising from the power station in Qamishli on Monday after a Turkish bombing (EPA)
Flames rising from the power station in Qamishli on Monday after a Turkish bombing (EPA)

A prominent Kurdish official said the US administration and Russia were responsible for the escalation of recent Turkish attacks in northeast Syria, demanding intervention of the Security Council and the implementation of international ceasefire resolutions.
On Monday, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said in a statement that Türkiye launched more than seven military airstrikes in its recent attacks.
Turkish aircraft also targeted five of the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) checkpoints and oil sites and facilities.
The statement explained that the continuous bombing over the past 72 hours targeted 45 facilities, homes, and civilian property, injuring six citizens.

The AANES said Türkiye is launching a blatant cross-border attack targeting civilian infrastructure, aiming to displace them and empty the region of its indigenous population, according to deputy co-chair of the Executive Council Badran Jia-Kurd.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Jia-Kurd said the Turkish attack is part of Ankara's war to strike social solidarity and the political process led by the Autonomous Administration.
He condemned the US and Russia's silence regarding the repeated Turkish attacks, adding that Washington and Moscow must pressure Türkiye to stop its aggression.
"Our forces are committed to their right to respond to hostile attacks in the areas controlled by Türkiye and its loyal factions."
The Kurdish official said the US and Russian armies are deployed in these areas under military agreements to reduce the escalation.
He demanded that Washington and Moscow present the Turkish crimes to the Security Council due to Türkiye's failure to adhere to the ceasefire resolution and obstructing the implementation of Resolution 2254.
Over four consecutive days, Turkish military aircraft and drones targeted drinking water stations, laboratories, civilian warehouses, and wedding halls.
Türkiye had repeatedly targeted the Odeh oil field near al-Qahtaniyah in the eastern countryside, costing the administration tens of thousands of dollars in repairs. It is one of the largest oil fields in northeastern Syria.
Furthermore, the head of Jazira region's Energy Department, Akram Suleiman, declared that Turkish attacks caused widespread power outages in nine towns, half of Qamishli's cities, and 2232 villages.
During a phone interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Suleiman said the Swedish electric power generation facility has also been out of service as a result of the Turkish bombing, targeting all sources of natural gas production.
Meanwhile, the General Command of the Syrian Democratic Forces said that the Turkish attacks disrupted the provision of essential services, denying Turkish allegations that its members were killed during the recent attacks.
The General Command asserted in a statement on Monday that these allegations were false, noting that Türkiye aims to disrupt people's lives and target the infrastructure.

The authority asserted that it would respond under the legitimate right of self-defense.



Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)

The Israeli military announced that one of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Gaza on Wednesday, but a security source said the death appeared to have been caused by "friendly fire".

"Staff Sergeant Ofri Yafe, aged 21, from HaYogev, a soldier in the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit, fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip," the military said in a statement.

A security source, however, told AFP that the soldier appeared to have been "killed by friendly fire", without providing further details.

"The incident is still under investigation," the source added.

The death brings to five the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since a ceasefire took effect on October 10.


Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
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Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman

Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said the process of merging the SDF with Syrian government forces “may take some time,” despite expressing confidence in the eventual success of the agreement.

His remarks came after earlier comments in which he acknowledged differences with Damascus over the concept of “decentralization.”

Speaking at a tribal conference in the northeastern city of Hasakah on Tuesday, Abdi said the issue of integration would not be resolved quickly, but stressed that the agreement remains on track.

He said the deal reached last month stipulates that three Syrian army brigades will be created out of the SDF.

Abdi added that all SDF military units have withdrawn to their barracks in an effort to preserve stability and continue implementing the announced integration agreement with the Syrian state.

He also emphasized the need for armed forces to withdraw from the vicinity of the city of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), to be replaced by security forces tasked with maintaining order.


Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would pursue a policy of "encouraging the migration" of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

"We will eliminate the idea of an Arab terror state," said Smotrich, speaking at an event organized by his Religious Zionism Party late on Tuesday.

"We will finally, formally, and in practical terms nullify the cursed Oslo Accords and embark on a path toward sovereignty, while encouraging emigration from both Gaza and Judea and Samaria.

"There is no other long-term solution," added Smotrich, who himself lives in a settlement in the West Bank.

Since last week, Israel has approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over the West Bank, including in areas administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords, in place since the 1990s.

The measures include a process to register land in the West Bank as "state property" and facilitate direct purchases of land by Jewish Israelis.

The measures have triggered widespread international outrage.

On Tuesday, the UN missions of 85 countries condemned the measures, which critics say amount to de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory.

"We strongly condemn unilateral Israeli decisions and measures aimed at expanding Israel's unlawful presence in the West Bank," they said in a statement.

"Such decisions are contrary to Israel's obligations under international law and must be immediately reversed.

"We underline in this regard our strong opposition to any form of annexation."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on Israel to reverse its land registration policy, calling it "destabilizing" and "unlawful".

The West Bank would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state. Many on Israel's religious right view it as Israeli land.

Israeli NGOs have also raised the alarm over a settlement plan signed by the government which they say would mark the first expansion of Jerusalem's borders into the occupied West Bank since 1967.

The planned development, announced by Israel's Ministry of Construction and Housing, is formally a westward expansion of the Geva Binyamin, or Adam, settlement situated northeast of Jerusalem in the West Bank.

The current Israeli government has fast-tracked settlement expansion, approving a record 52 settlements in 2025.

Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.